University of California s9

4-H Youth Development Program in Santa Barbara County

Emerald Star Program

Revised 2/16

I. WHAT IS THE EMERALD STAR PROGRAM?

a. The Emerald Star is a rank apart and separate from any other star.

b. The Emerald Star Program offers 4-H’ers the opportunity to develop leadership skills beyond the club level and receive special recognition for their work.

c. The Emerald Star Project has been designated to give 4-H members a chance to plan and execute a goal from beginning to end.

d. The Emerald Star is a stand-alone project and not a prerequisite to the All Star Award.

II. PURPOSE OF THE EMERALD STAR PROGRAM:

a. Provide an opportunity for 4-H members to develop Emerald Star Projects in their community or 4-H, beyond the club level.

b. To improve, create and expand the 4-H programs.

c. Provide an opportunity for involvement of a 4-H member without requiring a previous star rank.

d. Help individual 4-H members grow and improve themselves in the areas of organization, leadership, and planning an Emerald Star Project from beginning to end.

III. YOUR PLAN: Identify a need in your community (town or larger 4-H community) and come up with a goal, planned steps and implementation process to make an impact. Your plan and goal can cover virtually anything. You may want to propose ideas for a new program or develop a new project, event, activity, or enhance an existing project with new supplements that you develop. To successfully execute your plan, be sure to consider your plan in terms of time, money, and energy involved. Especially consider school and extracurricular activities and the amount of time you have to commit to your Emerald Star Project. Also, whether or not the resources needed are available. It is permissible to take more than one year to complete the Emerald Star Project. The Emerald Star will only be awarded when the Emerald Star Project is finished in the current year.

IV. REQUIREMENTS

a. The Emerald Star is for 4-H members, 13 year old/eighth grade or above, and completed at least one 4-H program year.

b. Would benefit others (not just the applicant).

c. Emerald Star projects must reach beyond the club level to benefit the community, several different clubs, or the entire Santa Barbara County 4-H program.

d. Emerald Star applicant would interface with Santa Barbara County members/leaders, and can involve community resources in developing and completing the Emerald Star Project.

e. Emerald Star project would be appropriate for the applicant.

f. Applicants must submit an Emerald Star preliminary plan for approval prior to the work being done and have the project evaluated upon completion.

g. Applicants must be prepared to handle any financial costs (including printing needs) required to complete their Emerald Star Project.

h. All Stars in their current term of service must request special Management Board approval to simultaneously work on an Emerald Star Project.

The University of California Division of Agriculture & Natural Resources (ANR) prohibits discrimination or harassment of any person in any of its programs or activities (Complete nondiscrimination policy statement can be found at http://ucanr.org/sites/anrstaff/files/107734.doc). Inquiries regarding ANR’s equal employment opportunity policies may be directed to Linda Marie Manton, Affirmative Action Contact, University of California, Davis, Agriculture and Natural Resources, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, (530) 752-0495.

V. THE MEMBER’S PRELIMINARY PLAN WILL BE EVALUATED FOR

a. Value to the Santa Barbara County 4-H Youth Development Program.

b. Value to the community.

c. Practicality and feasibility.

VI. PLANS MAY BE

a. An event or activity involving three or more units (clubs).

b. A community activity involving a group to serve the needs of an individual or individuals, or to serve an educational purpose.

c. A major expansion or revision of an existing county-wide 4-H event.

d. Something that has been done before and needs to be done again or something new that no one has ever done before.

e. Ideally Emerald Star projects should be completed successfully. However, a 4-H member may receive the Emerald Star rank even if his/her project is not successful. The end of project evaluation will assess how well the 4-H member planned, tried (including revision of their plans) and evaluated his/her own efforts. These factors will be taken into account when determining if the member will receive the Emerald Star.

VII. EXAMPLES AND IDEAS

a. Hold a learning day such as showmanship, foreign cooking, livestock judging, etc.

b. Plan and carry out a community outreach or service project such as an animal adoption day, sharing the 4-H program with at-risk youth, establish an after school reading, recreation or tutoring program, etc.

c. Organize a group to provide ongoing services to a nursing home, animal shelter, or the physically or mentally challenged.

d. Create a new event and build a strong committee that will support it indefinitely.

e. Hold a judging contest such as livestock, dairy, small animal, poultry, or horticulture.

f. Write a project member handbook and submit it to the 4-H office for future use.

VIII. EMERALD STAR PROJECT STEPS AND TIMELINE:

a. Applicant submits Preliminary Plan to Emerald Star Committee for approval- no later than 2 months prior to the activity.

b. Wait for notification of acceptance of Preliminary Plan. Emerald Star Committee reviews plan (approves or committee suggests changes).

c. Applicant submits Plan of Work for Emerald Star Project– no later than 1 month prior to the activity.

d. Wait for notification of acceptance of Plan of Work. Emerald Star Committee reviews plan (approve or committee suggests changes).

e. Applicant starts Emerald Star Project.

f. Emerald Star Committee Coordinator makes periodic calls to applicant, communicates status of Emerald Star progress with Youth Leadership Key Leader, Program Development Board, County 4-H Office, as needed.

g. Applicant submits End-of-Project Final Report.

h. Emerald Star Committee reviews report (approves or rejects).

i. Emerald Star award to applicant.

All three Plans and Reports are included in the packet. Please mail each one in the order stated above. If a plan is not accepted, a member of the Emerald Star committee will contact you with ideas to improve it. Emerald Star awards are given out at the Awards Ceremony.

Please submit plans and reports to UC Cooperative Extension, Santa Barbara County 4-H Youth Development Program, 6950 Hollister Ave, Suite 275, Goleta, CA 93117. Contact the 4-H office at 893-3409 for the name of the current Emerald Star Coordinator.

4-H Youth Development Program in Santa Barbara County

Emerald Star Project Form

Preliminary Plan

Please type or print clearly

Directions:

I. Complete this Preliminary Plan Form before you begin your project and return it to the 4-H Office: UC Cooperative Extension, Santa Barbara County 4-H Youth Development Program, 7127 Hollister Ave, Suite 7, Goleta, CA 93117. The Emerald Star Advisor will review your plan and either approve your project or contact you regarding necessary revisions.

Name / Today’s Date

(Please print)

Address, City, Zip

(Please print)

Telephone / E-Mail

(Please print)

Estimated Completion Date / Club
Grade / Age / Years in 4-H (Including this year)
Goal (Briefly describe the intended project event) My project.
Benefits from achieving this goal (what I hope to accomplish for myself and others) Reason for my project
How I plan to carry out my event/project (Timeline, calendar, estimated cost and plans for financing, etc...)
Human and other resources needed (necessary supplies, facilities arrangements, additional manpower, training, etc…)

______

Emerald Star Advisor’s Approval of Preliminary Plan Date

4-H Youth Development Program in Santa Barbara County

Emerald Star Project Form

Plan of Work

Please type or print clearly

Directions:

I. Submit to the Emerald Star Coordinator once your Preliminary Plan has been approved.

II. Keep the Emerald Star Advisor informed of your progress and any problems that you may

encounter.

Name / Today’s Date
Possible Obstacles / Possible Solutions
Specific Action Steps for Achieving Goal / Target Date
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Method of Tracking Progress

______

Emerald Star Advisor’s Approval of Plan of Work Date

4-H Youth Development Program in Santa Barbara County

Emerald Star Project Form

FINAL REPORT

Upon completion of your Emerald Star Project

Directions:

I. Documentation of your completed project, including successes and failures, resources used, and any other items that document your project.

II. The final report may be written, audio tape, video tape, etc… Most forms of documentation can be used (be creative), but if the project is not documented clearly, you may be asked to redo it.

III. Submit your Final Report to the Emerald Star Coordinator.

The final report may be submitted in any in any form as long as it contains the following:

o Name

o Date of completion

o Name of Project:

o Details of what I accomplished

o Details of what I learned and what I might have done differently

o Final Financial Report (Includes sources of Funding, Income & Expenses)

o A statement of completion from a 4-H leader acquainted with your project

o Newspaper clippings, photographs and any other supportive print materials.

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Applicant’s Signature Date

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Emerald Star Advisor’s Approval of Completion Date

Emerald Star Application - Page 5 of 5